From Power Five to Sun Belt Shockwaves: Inside College Football’s Latest Coaching Carousel

The coaching carousel isn’t slowing down; it’s just changing zip codes, and the next domino looks like former Florida head coach Billy Napier landing at James Madison on a reported five-year deal. For JMU, this is a swing at program-proof infrastructure: Napier’s calling card has always been process, recruiting organization, and a physical run-game foundation that travels well, especially in the Sun Belt footprint where he previously won big at Louisiana. The immediate challenge is both emotional and schematic, as Napier would be inheriting a locker room that has just experienced national buzz and stability under Bob Chesney. The quickest way to maintain that edge is to retain key assistants and protect the culture of development JMU has built since the FCS-to-FBS leap. Tactically, I expect Napier to prioritize line play, tighter operational discipline, and a win-the-week approach that can turn JMU from a fun story into a repeatable 9–10 win machine. If the Dukes’ admin gives him top-of-Sun Belt resources and he hits on portal evaluations, Napier can make JMU the league’s most professional program, the kind that doesn’t rebuild, but reloads.

This move is happening because UCLA has already gone shopping for a CEO-type, hiring Bob Chesney away from JMU to run the Bruins. The appeal is obvious: Chesney’s resume screams program manufacturer; a long-time head coach with a history of winning and a reputation for culture-setting, not just play-calling. UCLA needs exactly that after instability and inconsistency, because the Big Ten grind doesn’t reward vibes; it rewards depth, development, and week-to-week strength. Chesney’s early blueprint should look like this: lock down Southern California recruiting relationships, modernize roster construction through the portal, and install a weekly standard that makes UCLA harder to push around in the trenches. The biggest impact may come off the field first: staffing, sports science buy-in, and a tighter identity, and if he nails those levers, UCLA can climb from talented but fragile to annoying every Saturday, which is step one before they become dangerous.

Meanwhile, the messiest headline belongs to Ohio, which fired head coach Brian Smith for cause after an administrative review found serious professional misconduct and actions that reflected unfavorably on the university, with Ohio not publicly detailing the underlying allegations. Smith had been placed on leave on December 1st, 2025, and Ohio has named defensive coordinator John Hauser interim coach for the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl vs. UNLV on December 23rd while a permanent search launches immediately. A for-cause termination matters because it signals the university believes it has contractual grounds to avoid a standard buyout; and it also puts a compound microscope on compliance, internal oversight, and culture for whoever takes over next. For the roster, this is the danger zone: bowl prep gets hectic, staff uncertainty invites transfer disorder, and leadership becomes a day-to-day test of whether the program can protect its identity through the disturbance. Ohio’s short-term mission is simple but ruthless: keep the team together through the bowl, stabilize recruiting, and show players that the standard is bigger than one coach.

So, what does Ohio do next? Three fits jump out, starting with John Hauser as the continuity play: he already has the room, he’s already leading through the bowl, and rewarding interim stability can prevent a roster drain if the administration believes he’s head-coach-ready. Second, Scott Isphording, Ohio’s offensive coordinator, makes sense if the priority is keeping the offensive system intact and protecting QB/skill development it’s the don’t start over hire that can preserve recruiting relationships and keep the program’s recent motion from resetting. Third, an outside candidate archetype Ohio should seriously pursue is a proven MAC/upper-G5 head coach or elite coordinator with Midwest recruiting chops; someone who can sell discipline, development, and retention in a league where continuity is currency. The program’s north star must be credibility: after a for-cause exit, Ohio can’t just hire the next play-caller; it has to hire a leader who restores trust fast not just internally, but on the trail, and in the building. If they nail that, this doesn’t have to be a derailment; it can be a hard reset that keeps the Bobcats competitive in the MAC while re-establishing the culture that wins close games in November.